Update, Oct. 26: The restaurant’s re-opening date is October 31, and the name is going to be Russell & Bette’s.
By Christina Johnson
RUMSON – When Marilyn Schlossbach and partners purchased the venerable “What’s Your Beef” bar and eatery on River Road a few months ago, it caused a ripple of anxiety among regulars, who depended on it for always being there – same as it always was.
Schlossbach plans to reopen it next week. The old timers will surely notice the Tiffany lamps and the cold salad bar are gone, sold in a sidewalk sale last weekend. But the beloved horseshoe-shaped bar is still there. The painted tin ceiling still hangs above. And though it’s a whole new menu, steaks will still come out of the tiny kitchen.
“Many people feel like this place has some soul and history to it,” said Schlossbach, an owner of several restaurants in Asbury Park and Normandy Beach. “We want to keep that, and also want it to appeal to a broader clientele, a younger person. I don’t want to say ‘hipster,’ but I want it to feel very current.”
By Christina Johnson
RUMSON – When Marilyn Schlossbach and partners purchased the venerable “What’s Your Beef” bar and eatery on River Road a few months ago, it caused a ripple of anxiety among regulars, who depended on it for always being there – same as it always was.
Schlossbach plans to reopen it next week. The old timers will surely notice the Tiffany lamps and the cold salad bar are gone, sold in a sidewalk sale last weekend. But the beloved horseshoe-shaped bar is still there. The painted tin ceiling still hangs above. And though it’s a whole new menu, steaks will still come out of the tiny kitchen.
“Many people feel like this place has some soul and history to it,” said Schlossbach, an owner of several restaurants in Asbury Park and Normandy Beach. “We want to keep that, and also want it to appeal to a broader clientele, a younger person. I don’t want to say ‘hipster,’ but I want it to feel very current.”
The building at 21 West River Road has a long history. It was originally constructed as part of the Lafayette Hotel, in 1884, and since 1928 has changed hands several times as a tavern, bar and lounge, said historian Rick Geffken. “I would say it’s one of the oldest continuously run commercial buildings in what was once known as Oceanic,” he said.
As in her other restaurants, there will be a locally influenced menu centered on the “farm-to- table” concept, where food from local agriculture and purveyors are emphasized in healthy dishes. “I use the best quality product I can find,” said Schlossbach, who has appointed chef Richard Drake from her Langosta Lounge of Asbury Park to execute dinner seven nights a week. “We get our grass-fed beef from (a purveyor in) Atlantic Highlands, seafood from an oyster fisherman in Mantoloking. We have some wonderful relationships with vegetable farms in the area. We want to support them.”
As in her other restaurants, there will be a locally influenced menu centered on the “farm-to- table” concept, where food from local agriculture and purveyors are emphasized in healthy dishes. “I use the best quality product I can find,” said Schlossbach, who has appointed chef Richard Drake from her Langosta Lounge of Asbury Park to execute dinner seven nights a week. “We get our grass-fed beef from (a purveyor in) Atlantic Highlands, seafood from an oyster fisherman in Mantoloking. We have some wonderful relationships with vegetable farms in the area. We want to support them.”
Schlossbach became involved with the restaurant after a school friend urged her to open a restaurant in the Two River area, she said. When a real estate agent reached out to her about the building in Rumson’s downtown, Schlossberg asked her business partner Rob Laub: “Want to put your money where your mouth is?”
He did, and the building, with apartments partially above it, was purchased in March. The partners in the yet-unnamed restaurant are Laub and wife Nicole of Fair Haven; Marilyn Schlossbach and husband Scott Szegeski of Asbury Park; and Schlossbach’s brother, Richard Schlossbach of Ocean Grove.
The restaurant remained open until a few weeks ago with an interim chef, as observations
were made, menu tweaks were tried out, and the historic structure got a thorough cleaning. It was closed mid-September for some work on the floors to be redone with reclaimed hardwood and to accommodate 80 seats – which is 20 more than before. Structural issues were discovered at that time that needed addressing, but the doors are expected to reopen next week, she said.
were made, menu tweaks were tried out, and the historic structure got a thorough cleaning. It was closed mid-September for some work on the floors to be redone with reclaimed hardwood and to accommodate 80 seats – which is 20 more than before. Structural issues were discovered at that time that needed addressing, but the doors are expected to reopen next week, she said.
Diners will be presented with a one-page menu of “very affordable” dinners, said Schlossbach, which may expand to brunch in the future. “We don’t want this to be the place you go to once a month. We want this to be the place you go to one-to-three times a week.” As the mother of twin four-year olds, Schlossbach is determined to make the restaurant kid friendly, and the bar welcoming.
Community nights, where the restaurant partners with a charity on the last Thursday of the month, will continue. There will be jazz and acoustic music on Friday and Saturday night. New to the restaurant will be “Farm to Table” dinners, where diners will be treated to local wine and dinner pairings. She is excited to feature Merrick Farm of Farmingdale, which she says is the first certified organic farm in the county.
She said she knows that some regulars will be broken-hearted that she is not keeping the restaurant as it stood since 1969. But times have changed, she said, the restaurant business has changed. She asks the community come in to give her and her team a chance, and support a neighborhood restaurant with “local” at its heart.
“One thing I liked about What’s Your Beef is that they had a loyal local clientele,” she said. “You could be sitting next to a CEO, a nurse, a schoolteacher, and everyone looks like they belong. That’s what I hope we can preserve.”
This article was originally published in the Oct. 20-26 edition of The Two River Times newspaper.
This article was originally published in the Oct. 20-26 edition of The Two River Times newspaper.
